Narrow Search
 
 
Advanced Search

Browse All : Terra of Pacific Ocean

Printer Friendly
1 2 3 4 5 6
1-50 of 274
     
     
HURRICANE CARLOTTA SPINS IN …
With winds reaching 250 kilo …
7/7/00
Date 7/7/00
Description With winds reaching 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph), this year's Hurricane Carlotta became the second strongest eastern Pacific June hurricane on record. New images from NASA's Multi- angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) show the hurricane on June 21, the day of its peak intensity. MISR, built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is one of several Earth-observing instruments aboard NASA's Terra satellite, which was launched in December 1999. This set of images has been oriented so that the spacecraft's flight path is from left to right, north is at the left. The top image is a color view from MISR's vertical (nadir) camera, showing Carlotta's location in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The middle image is a stereoscopic anaglyph created using MISR's nadir camera plus one of its aftward-viewing cameras, and shows a closer view of the area around the hurricane. Viewing with red/blue glasses (red filter over the left eye) is required to obtain a 3-D stereo effect. Near the center of the storm, the eye is about 25 kilometers (16 miles) in diameter and partially obscured by a thin cloud. About 50 kilometers (31 miles) to the left of the eye, the sharp drop- off from high-level to low-level cloud gives a sense of the vertical extent of the hidden eye wall. The low-level cloud is spiraling counterclockwise into the center of the cyclone. It then rises in the vicinity of the eye wall and emerges with a clockwise rotation at high altitude. Maximum surface winds are found near the eye wall. The bottom stereo image is a zoomed-in view of convective clouds in the hurricane's spiral arms. The arms are breeding grounds for severe thunderstorms, with associated heavy rain and flooding, frequent lightning, and tornadoes. Thunderstorms rise in dramatic fashion to about the same altitude as the high cloud near the hurricane's center, and are made up of individual cells that are typically less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. This image shows a number of these cells, some fairly isolated, and others connected together. Their three-dimensional structure is clearly apparent in this stereo view. More information about MISR is available at: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov MISR scientific data products are available through the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center at NASA Langley Research Center: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov The Terra mission is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. #####
Dust clouds over eastern Chi …
The desert takes to the skie …
5/9/01
Date 5/9/01
Description The desert takes to the skies in these images of eastern China from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). A hazy summer view from July 9, 2000, (left) compares with a spectacularly dusty spring view from April 7, 2001, (middle). The two images cover an area from central Manchuria near the top to portions of North and South Korea at the bottom. The image on the right is a higher resolution MISR nadir- camera view of a portion of the April 7, 2001, dust cloud. When viewed at full magnification, a number of atmospheric wave features, like the ridges and valleys of a fingerprint, are apparent. These are probably induced by surface topography, which can disturb the wind flow. A few small cumulus clouds are also visible and are casting shadows on the thick lower dust layer. According to the Xinhua News Agency in China, nearly one million tons of Gobi Desert dust blow into Beijing each year. During a similar dust outbreak last year, the Associated Press reported that the visibility in Beijing had been reduced to the point where buildings were barely visible across city streets and airline schedules were significantly disrupted. The dust has also been implicated in adverse health effects such as respiratory discomfort and eye irritation. Asia's desert areas are prone to soil erosion, as underground water tables are lowered by prolonged drought and by industrial and agricultural water use. Heavy winds blowing eastward across the arid and sparsely vegetated surfaces of Mongolia and western China pick up large quantities of yellow dust. Airborne dust clouds from the April 2001 storm blew across the Pacific Ocean and were carried as far as North America. The minerals transported in this manner are believed to provide nutrients for both oceanic and land ecosystems. The left-hand and middle images are from Terra orbits 2,967 and 6,928 respectively. They are approximately 380 kilometers (236 miles) in width. The right-hand image covers an area roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) wide by 470 kilometers (292 miles) high. Analyses of images such as these constitute one phase of MISR's participation in the Asian-Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment, an international campaign aimed at studying the offshore transport of airborne particles from the Asian continent. More information about this international endeavor is available online at http://saga.pmel.noaa.gov/aceasia/ . MISR, built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is one of several Earth-observing experiments aboard Terra, launched in December 1999. MISR acquires images of the Earth at nine angles simultaneously, using nine separate cameras pointed forward, downward, and backward along its flight path. More information about MISR is available at http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov . JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. # # # # #
Sea Surface Temperature Anom …
Title Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly from July 5, 2001 to March 10, 2002
Abstract This animation depicts the difference between the actual sea surface temperature and the average climatology data. Blue areas indicate temperatures colder than average while red areas indicate regions that are warmer. Temperature values between -4 degrees and +3 degrees are mapped to gradient color ramps, and regions with less than one degree deviation from average are shown as grey.
Completed 2002-04-10
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
China Dust Storm seen by Ter …
Title China Dust Storm seen by Terra/MODIS and Earth Probe/TOMS in April of 2001
Abstract A thick shroud of dust appears over China on April 6-7, 2001. The densest portion of the aerosol pollution travels east over China, Russia, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, Canada, and The United States.
Completed 2003-12-01
Looking Down at the Earth fr …
Title Looking Down at the Earth from Space with SeaWiFS False Color Oceans.
Abstract Looking down at the Earth from Space. The SeaWiFS Instrument allows us to see the Oceans in a different light.
Completed 2002-08-20
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature from 2002 to 2006
Abstract A recent study indicates there is a correlation between ocean nutrients and changes in sea surface temperature (SST). The results show that when ocean water warms, marine plant life in the form of microscopic phytoplankton tend to decline. When water cools, plant life flourishes. Changes in phytoplankton growth influence fishery yields and the amount of carbon dioxide the oceans remove from the atmosphere. This could have major implications on the future of our ocean's food web and how it relates to climate change. The temperature data in this visualization comes from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft. In order to see the correlation between SST and SeaWiFS data, this animation can be compared to the latter part of the animation called 'SeaWiFS Biosphere from 1997 to 2006'. Please click here to see this other animation.
Completed 2006-11-22
Grasslands of the World
Title Grasslands of the World
Abstract Rotating globe showing global grassland coverage. Data obtained from Terra/MODIS landcover isolating grasslands, woody savannas, savannas, and wetlands (all seen in green). This data represents 4 parts of a 17 part global classification product all of which have been taken at 1km. resolution.
Completed 2001-11-15
Grasslands of the World
Title Grasslands of the World
Abstract Rotating globe showing global grassland coverage. Data obtained from Terra/MODIS landcover isolating grasslands, woody savannas, savannas, and wetlands (all seen in green). This data represents 4 parts of a 17 part global classification product all of which have been taken at 1km. resolution.
Completed 2001-11-15
A Pacific View of Sea Surfac …
Title A Pacific View of Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly for February 15, 2002
Completed 2002-03-06
A Close View of Sea Surface …
Title A Close View of Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly for February 15, 2002
Completed 2002-03-06
A Pacific View of Sea Surfac …
Title A Pacific View of Sea Surface Temperature from MODIS for February 15, 2002
Completed 2002-03-06
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Tran …
Title Terra/MOPITT CO Pacific Transport
Abstract Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide (CO) is seen flowing across the Pacific Ocean in measurments made by the Terra/MOPITT instrument.
Completed 2001-05-22
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature around the Australian Continent
Abstract The earliest technique for measuring Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was dipping a thermometer into a bucket of water. The first automated technique for determining SST was accomplished by measuring the temperature of water in the intake port of large ships. A large network of coastal buoys in U.S. waters is maintained by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Since about 1990, there has also been an extensive array of moored buoys maintained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean designed to help monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Since the 1980s satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measured SST provides both a synoptic view of the ocean and a high frequency of repeat views, allowing the examination of basin-wide upper ocean dynamics not possible with ships or buoys. For example, a ship traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h) would require 10 years to cover the same area a satellite covers in two minutes. This animation uses SST data taken at nighttime from the MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra satellites. This data has many important applications that permit scientists to use ocean temperatures to observe ocean circulation and locate major ocean currents. Ocean current analysis can facilitate ocean transportation. Additionally, by using SST, scientists can monitor changes in ocean temperatures and relate these to weather and climate changes like coral bleaching around the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the SST changes have many important biological implications for hospitable/inhospitable conditions for many organisms including species of plankton, seagrasses, shellfish, fish, coral, and mammals.
Completed 2005-02-28
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature around the Australian Continent
Abstract The earliest technique for measuring Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was dipping a thermometer into a bucket of water. The first automated technique for determining SST was accomplished by measuring the temperature of water in the intake port of large ships. A large network of coastal buoys in U.S. waters is maintained by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Since about 1990, there has also been an extensive array of moored buoys maintained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean designed to help monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Since the 1980s satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measured SST provides both a synoptic view of the ocean and a high frequency of repeat views, allowing the examination of basin-wide upper ocean dynamics not possible with ships or buoys. For example, a ship traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h) would require 10 years to cover the same area a satellite covers in two minutes. This animation uses SST data taken at nighttime from the MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra satellites. This data has many important applications that permit scientists to use ocean temperatures to observe ocean circulation and locate major ocean currents. Ocean current analysis can facilitate ocean transportation. Additionally, by using SST, scientists can monitor changes in ocean temperatures and relate these to weather and climate changes like coral bleaching around the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the SST changes have many important biological implications for hospitable/inhospitable conditions for many organisms including species of plankton, seagrasses, shellfish, fish, coral, and mammals.
Completed 2005-02-28
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature around the Australian Continent
Abstract The earliest technique for measuring Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was dipping a thermometer into a bucket of water. The first automated technique for determining SST was accomplished by measuring the temperature of water in the intake port of large ships. A large network of coastal buoys in U.S. waters is maintained by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Since about 1990, there has also been an extensive array of moored buoys maintained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean designed to help monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Since the 1980s satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measured SST provides both a synoptic view of the ocean and a high frequency of repeat views, allowing the examination of basin-wide upper ocean dynamics not possible with ships or buoys. For example, a ship traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h) would require 10 years to cover the same area a satellite covers in two minutes. This animation uses SST data taken at nighttime from the MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra satellites. This data has many important applications that permit scientists to use ocean temperatures to observe ocean circulation and locate major ocean currents. Ocean current analysis can facilitate ocean transportation. Additionally, by using SST, scientists can monitor changes in ocean temperatures and relate these to weather and climate changes like coral bleaching around the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the SST changes have many important biological implications for hospitable/inhospitable conditions for many organisms including species of plankton, seagrasses, shellfish, fish, coral, and mammals.
Completed 2005-02-28
MODIS Sea Surface Temperatur …
Title MODIS Sea Surface Temperature around the Australian Continent
Abstract The earliest technique for measuring Sea Surface Temperature (SST) was dipping a thermometer into a bucket of water. The first automated technique for determining SST was accomplished by measuring the temperature of water in the intake port of large ships. A large network of coastal buoys in U.S. waters is maintained by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Since about 1990, there has also been an extensive array of moored buoys maintained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean designed to help monitor and predict the El Niño phenomenon. Since the 1980s satellites have been increasingly utilized to measure SST and have provided an enormous leap in our ability to view the spatial and temporal variation in SST. The satellite measured SST provides both a synoptic view of the ocean and a high frequency of repeat views, allowing the examination of basin-wide upper ocean dynamics not possible with ships or buoys. For example, a ship traveling at 10 knots (20 km/h) would require 10 years to cover the same area a satellite covers in two minutes. This animation uses SST data taken at nighttime from the MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra satellites. This data has many important applications that permit scientists to use ocean temperatures to observe ocean circulation and locate major ocean currents. Ocean current analysis can facilitate ocean transportation. Additionally, by using SST, scientists can monitor changes in ocean temperatures and relate these to weather and climate changes like coral bleaching around the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the SST changes have many important biological implications for hospitable/inhospitable conditions for many organisms including species of plankton, seagrasses, shellfish, fish, coral, and mammals.
Completed 2005-02-28
Global Sea Surface Temperatu …
Title Global Sea Surface Temperature from MODIS between July 2001 and February 2002
Completed 2002-03-06
Looking down at the Earth's …
Title Looking down at the Earth's Ocean Floor from Space.
Abstract Using a combination of different datasets, scientists are able to see what the Earth would look like if it had no oceans.
Completed 2002-08-20
Ambrym Volcano Ash Plume
Title Ambrym Volcano Ash Plume
Description In the South Pacific Ocean east of Australia, the 83 islands that make up the Vanuatu nation are dotted with countless craters from active and extinct volcanoes. Among the most dangerous is the almost-permanently active Ambrym Volcano. In this pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured by the Terra satellite on April 27, 2004, a large plume of volcanic ash is blowing westward from the volcano, which appears at the center right edge. The plume is mixing with clouds, and is more apparent as a bright, reddish orange color in the false-color image (below). The large image is the same spatial resolution (level of detail), but shows a wider area. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC
Ambrym Volcano Ash Plume
Title Ambrym Volcano Ash Plume
Description In the South Pacific Ocean east of Australia, the 83 islands that make up the Vanuatu nation are dotted with countless craters from active and extinct volcanoes. Among the most dangerous is the almost-permanently active Ambrym Volcano. In this pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured by the Terra satellite on April 27, 2004, a large plume of volcanic ash is blowing westward from the volcano, which appears at the center right edge. The plume is mixing with clouds, and is more apparent as a bright, reddish orange color in the false-color image (below). The large image is the same spatial resolution (level of detail), but shows a wider area. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC
Ash Plume from Anatahan
Title Ash Plume from Anatahan
Description The Anatahan Volcano emitted another plume of volcanic ash on March 24, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image the same day. In this image, the tiny volcanic island sends a plume of volcanic ash toward the west, over the Pacific Ocean. The ash cloud disperses rapidly as it travels westward. In early March 2006, the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands extended the state of emergency for the island of Anatahan, citing continued volcanic activity. Except for those conducting scientific research, the island remained off limits for human habitation and travel. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Anatahan ] of Anatahan.
Bushfires Raging in Southeas …
Title Bushfires Raging in Southeast Australia
Description On January 19, 2003, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on the Aqua and Terra satellites captured a series of images of the fires in southeast Australia and the plume of smoke wafting thousands of kilometers out over the Pacific Ocean. This composite image is made up of four alternating Terra and Aqua images: Terra/Aqua/Terra/Aqua (left to right). Terra is the morning satellite, so its images were acquired first. Since the satellites collect data from east to west, Terra acquired the third segment of the image, showing South Island of New Zealand first, and then a few hours later, the first segment, showing the coast of Australia. The Aqua images came next, again from east to west, so that the far right segment, showing North Island of New Zealand, came first, and the second segment, showing the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia, came last. Over the ocean, you can see the direction of the sunglint change based on the different orbital geometry: in the Terra image, the sunglint runs northeast-southwest, for Aqua it runs northwest-southeast. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Bushfires Raging in Southeas …
Title Bushfires Raging in Southeast Australia
Description Bushfires continue to burn in southeast Australia. This false-color image shows the resulting concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) at an altitude of roughly 3 km (700 millibars) in the atmosphere over Australia and New Zealand. Data taken by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite have been combined for 6 days from January 15-20, 2003. The colors represent the mixing ratios of carbon monoxide in the air, given in parts per billion by volume. In this scene, values range from as high as 250 ppbv (purple pixels) to as low as 50 ppbv (blue pixels). The white areas show where no data were collected, either due to persistent cloud cover or gaps between satellite viewing swaths. Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of incomplete combustion during burning processes, and is important due to its impact on chemistry in the lower atmosphere. It is a good indicator of atmospheric pollution, and its presence adversely affects the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself. Because carbon monoxide is persistent for several weeks, it clearly shows the propagation of pollution plumes from the region of the Australian fires out thousands of kilometers into the usually pristine atmosphere of the southern Pacific Ocean. The distribution of pollution over Australia corresponds closely with satellite observed aerosol emitted by the fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=5349 ] as observed by TOMS. Image courtesy NCAR MOPITT Team
Forest Fire on Maui
Title Forest Fire on Maui
Description In the last week of January 2007, a forest fire burned on the Hawaiian island of Maui, scorching several hundred acres of state park land and forest reserves before it was contained. This image from January 26 from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite shows the fire (location marked in red) casting a long plume of smoke westward over the Pacific Ocean. According to news reports, the cause of the fire was not known. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Mauna_Loa/ ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Chikurachki Volcano
Title Chikurachki Volcano
Description Off Russia's east coast, The Kuril Islands run in a southwesterly arc between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido. Located where the Pacific tectonic plate (covered by the Pacific Ocean) is being forced underneath the Eurasian tectonic plate (on which Russia, China, Japan, and Europe all sit), the twenty islands in the Kuril chain all have volcanoes in residence, 45 in all. This true-color MODIS image of the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the northern Kuril Islands shows the region shrouded in clouds, but roughly in the center of the image, a dark brown ash plume from the Chikurachki Volcano on Paramushir Island has punctured the cloud layer and casts its gray shadow to the northwest. Chikurachki began erupting on January 25. This image was made from data acquired on February 24, 2002. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Chilean Lake Disappears
Title Chilean Lake Disappears
Description In May 2007, the Chilean Forestry Corporation discovered that a lake in the Southern Patagonia Icefield in the Chilean Andes had disappeared. Chilean glaciologists had observed the 20,000-square-meter (roughly 215,000-squre-foot) lake, which was located between the tongues of the Glaciar Témpanos and Glaciar Bernardo, in March. (Glaciar is Spanish for "glacier.") Two months later, nothing remained except a 30-meter- (100-foot-) deep crater and some stranded ice that had once floated on the water's surface. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured the top image on June 23, 2007, showing a crater that the lake had occupied. In this image, the crater lies mostly in shadow, due to the low angle of the Sun during the Southern Hemisphere's winter. Despite the shadows, contour lines around the lake show where the ground level is lower than the surroundings. East of the drained lake, water still appears near the tongue of Glaciar Bernardo. In this image, made from a combination of visible and infrared light detected by ASTER, red indicates vegetation, and patches of red peek through the snow cover. ASTER acquired the bottom image on April 4, 2007, when the lake was still in place. In this image—acquired in the Chilean autumn—both the lake and a nearby tributary appear full, shown by the blue-tinted water. Vibrant red, lush vegetation covers the landscape. Although the sudden draining of a lake is rare, it is not unheard of. One explanation that scientists proposed was an earthquake in the region that measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes can open up fissures in the rock, giving water an escape route. Another explanation was more prosaic: melting. Blocks of ice dam many glacial lakes, and when the ice melts, the lake can drain away. Sometimes a lake can drain in a rapid deluge, known as a glacial lake outburst flood. After flying over the region in late June 2007, scientists from Centro de Estudios Cientificos (CECS) and the Chilean Navy concluded that the likely culprit for the lake's disappearance was such a flood. Dr. Andrés Rivera, a glaciologist from CECS, described the flow. "The lake's water flowed to the north along the western margin of Glaciar Bernardo and into a big hole, [ http://www.imaginaccion.cl/cecs.html ] where the water went down into a glacier tunnel in the direction to Bernardo Fjord," he said. Bernardo Fjord empties into the Pacific Ocean. You can also download a 15-meter-resolution KMZ file of the region around the "missing" lake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/lagotempanos_ast_2007174.kmz ], including both April 4 and June 23, 2007, images, suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Chilean Lake Disappears
Title Chilean Lake Disappears
Description In May 2007, the Chilean Forestry Corporation discovered that a lake in the Southern Patagonia Icefield in the Chilean Andes had disappeared. Chilean glaciologists had observed the 20,000-square-meter (roughly 215,000-squre-foot) lake, which was located between the tongues of the Glaciar Témpanos and Glaciar Bernardo, in March. (Glaciar is Spanish for "glacier.") Two months later, nothing remained except a 30-meter- (100-foot-) deep crater and some stranded ice that had once floated on the water's surface. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured the top image on June 23, 2007, showing a crater that the lake had occupied. In this image, the crater lies mostly in shadow, due to the low angle of the Sun during the Southern Hemisphere's winter. Despite the shadows, contour lines around the lake show where the ground level is lower than the surroundings. East of the drained lake, water still appears near the tongue of Glaciar Bernardo. In this image, made from a combination of visible and infrared light detected by ASTER, red indicates vegetation, and patches of red peek through the snow cover. ASTER acquired the bottom image on April 4, 2007, when the lake was still in place. In this image—acquired in the Chilean autumn—both the lake and a nearby tributary appear full, shown by the blue-tinted water. Vibrant red, lush vegetation covers the landscape. Although the sudden draining of a lake is rare, it is not unheard of. One explanation that scientists proposed was an earthquake in the region that measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes can open up fissures in the rock, giving water an escape route. Another explanation was more prosaic: melting. Blocks of ice dam many glacial lakes, and when the ice melts, the lake can drain away. Sometimes a lake can drain in a rapid deluge, known as a glacial lake outburst flood. After flying over the region in late June 2007, scientists from Centro de Estudios Cientificos (CECS) and the Chilean Navy concluded that the likely culprit for the lake's disappearance was such a flood. Dr. Andrés Rivera, a glaciologist from CECS, described the flow. "The lake's water flowed to the north along the western margin of Glaciar Bernardo and into a big hole, [ http://www.imaginaccion.cl/cecs.html ] where the water went down into a glacier tunnel in the direction to Bernardo Fjord," he said. Bernardo Fjord empties into the Pacific Ocean. You can also download a 15-meter-resolution KMZ file of the region around the "missing" lake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/lagotempanos_ast_2007174.kmz ], including both April 4 and June 23, 2007, images, suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Continued Eruption of Manam …
Title Continued Eruption of Manam Volcano
Description The vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean floats over the Earth's molten core on a section of the Earth's crust called the Pacific Plate. Along its edges, the plate crashes against the plates holding the continents with often violent force. In most places, the cold Pacific plate is pulled under the continental plates, where it crumbles into hot magma, a process called subduction. Along the edges of the plates, the clashing and breaking crust generates powerful earthquakes, and the shallow molten rock fuels volcanoes. The result is the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a circle of high volcanic and seismic activity along the rim of the Pacific Ocean. Papua New Guinea's Manam Volcano sits in the southwest segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Pacific Plate sinks beneath the Indo-Australian Plate. One of the region's most active volcanoes, Manam forms a tiny 10-kilometer wide island that rises from the Bismarck Sea 13 kilometers off the shore of Papua New Guinea. The volcano has erupted frequently since its first recorded eruption in 1616, and was erupting on November 15, 2004, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) flew overhead on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. In this true-color image, dark ash rises from the volcano and is drifting southwest over Papua New Guinea. The current eruption began on October 24 with an explosive eruption that forced thousands of villages on Manam Island out of their homes. According to news reports, the ongoing eruption has not caused any injuries. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Corral Fire Near Malibu, Cal …
Title Corral Fire Near Malibu, California
Description On November 24, 2007, a fire started in Corral Canyon northwest of Malibu and was rapidly fanned into a large blaze by Santa Ana winds. Numerous homes were destroyed in the area, which is at the wildland-urban interface between the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on November 24 shows the smoke plume trailing far out over the Pacific Ocean. The area in which MODIS detected active fire is outlined in red. According to the interagency InciWeb Incident Information System, the Corral Fire [ http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1026/ ] was about 4,700 acres and 40 percent contained as of Sunday, November 25. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_La_Jolla ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Cyclone Meena strikes Cook I …
Title Cyclone Meena strikes Cook Islands
Description Cyclone Meena moved across the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean on February 7, 2005, causing less damage than initially feared. As it approached the islands on February 6, the cyclone neared super-cyclone status—the category reserved for storms with winds gusts greater than 280 kilometers per hour. A few hours before the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this image, Meena reached its strongest point with winds of 232 kilometers per hour (144 mph) and gusts up to 278 kph (173 mph). By the time this image was taken, the storm had weakened, sparing the Cook Islands serious damage when it struck a few hours later. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes DAAC.
Haze Over Eastern China
Title Haze Over Eastern China
Description The air over the eastern China cleared somewhat on February 25, 2004, as the haze and pollution (gray pixels) moved eastward over the East China Sea and toward the open Pacific Ocean. There also continues to be a large amount of sediment (light brown) washing into the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Drought in Southeastern Aust …
Title Drought in Southeastern Australia
Description Deep red paints the coastal mountains of southeastern Australia, hangs over the continent's arid interior, and dots much of the rest of the land in this image, indicating that unusually high temperatures reigned in November 2006. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the monthly average temperature for the country hit a record high in November. The average temperature for the continent was 2.11 degrees Celsius warmer than average, with local temperatures rising more than 4 degrees C above average for the month in places. These abnormally high air temperatures are reflected in the extreme land surface temperatures shown in this image. The land is usually much warmer to the touch than the temperature recorded by a thermometer hanging above the ground, and so, during November, land surface temperatures in Australia were as much as 10 degrees Celsius above a five-year average. The greatest deviation from normal temperatures is shown in dark red in this image. Average temperatures are white, and cooler-than-average temperatures are blue. The temperature data were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The temperature anomaly was greatest in the Great Dividing Range, which curves along the coasts of Victoria and New South Wales in southeast Australia. The heat and a lack of spring rain may have primed the mountains for devastating wildfires. By the end of December, several large wildfires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14029 ] raced through the mountains, threatening local communities and clouding the skies over much of southeastern Australia with dense smoke. The high temperatures in the Great Dividing Range and elsewhere were just part of an unusually warm and dry spring, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13943 ] which in turn, was an extension of a dry year. Some of the dryness may be linked to a weak El Niñno in the Pacific Ocean. El Niñno is a regular climate pattern during which sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator heat up and trade winds weaken. Though the effects of El Niñno vary, the phenomenon often changes rainfall patterns around the world. In Australia, El Niñno often brings a dry winter and spring. It is also linked to an increase in the number of extreme fire days, during which conditions are hot, dry, and windy. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Zhengming Wan, MODIS Land Surface Temperature Group, Institute for Computational Earth System Science [ http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/ ], University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dust and Haze Blow Across Ch …
Title Dust and Haze Blow Across China
Description Dust blowing out of the Gobi desert mixed with haze casts a light yellow haze over eastern China, the Yellow Sea, and the Korean peninsula in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, collected on March 28, 2005, by NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. Such dust storms are common in the spring when winds blow out of the northwest, carrying dust from Asia over the Pacific Ocean. The Korean Meteorological Administration estimated that an average of 300 micrograms per cubic meter of dust blew over Korea on March 28, the Korea Herald reported. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
Hokkaido, Japan
Title Hokkaido, Japan
Description Cities mingle with rugged hills and a dormant volcano in this image of Hokkaido, Japan. This three-dimensional image comes from observations made by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on July 23, 2006. The view is toward the north and slightly east. Green indicates vegetation, beige and gray indicate bare ground, paved surfaces, or buildings, and dark blue indicates water. The water body at the top of the image is the Pacific Ocean. Now dormant, Mount Yotei is a stratovolcano—a symmetrical cone composed of alternating layers of hardened lava, solidified ash, and volcanic rocks ejected in previous eruptions. It reaches a height of 1,898 meters (6,227 feet), and its summit sports a 700-meter- (2,297-foot-) wide crater. Snow often caps this volcano, but in this summertime shot, the volcano's summit is snow-free. The volcano is also known as Ezo-Fuji for its resemblance to Mount Fuji. As angular patches of gray and beige indicate, urban areas surround the volcano, most notably the city of Kutchan to the northwest. Even when volcanoes remain active, people often settle close to them, drawn by benefits [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/NatHazards/ ] of good soil and mild climates that appear to outweigh the risks. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
Hurricane Alma in the Easter …
Title Hurricane Alma in the Eastern Pacific Ocean
Description As of Thursday morning, May 30, 2002, Hurricane Alma was a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds up to 110 miles per hour and gusts up to 135 miles per hour. Located in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred miles west of central Mexico and south of Baja California, the storm is tracking northward at about 9 miles per hour, and is forecast to weaken as it moves north over cooler ocean waters. Alma is the eastern Pacific?s first named storm of the season. This image of Hurricane Alma was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on Wednesday, May 29, 2002. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of the scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapid Response Image Gallery. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
1 2 3 4 5 6
1-50 of 274